Learn How Confidence Helps Avoid Being A Victim of Online Dating Scams

August 11, 2015

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By Top10BestDatingSites Staff

Online dating is booming and that’s true for gay and lesbian online dating, too. However, along with the lure of online love come dating scams. Case in point: you come upon the profile of your absolute dream man. Too good to be true? Maybe. Read on to learn how to build your dating confidence and avoid being the victim of online dating scams.

Confidence is Key

Today, 80% of gay men find long-term relationships online compared to 14 percent 14 years ago. Still, despite its phenomenal success, dating online can bring out your worst fears and insecurities. Why? First because the prevalence of scams is increasing, and second, it’s just tough to put yourself out there amidst scores of other men and face the possibility of rejection. But by shoring up your confidence you can avoid scams and finally find the man of your dreams.

How to Build Your Confidence

Creating your confident self is simpler than you think. Consider:

Self-talk: It works! Every day, tell yourself you are strong, capable and self-confident. You have tons to offer and anyone would be lucky to be your date.

Remove the rejection factor. As you peruse through hundreds of profiles and find yourself becoming paralyzed thinking no one will ever like you, turn the table and remember – you are in control: you are the one making the choices.

Focus on other things. It’s easy to allow your online dating efforts to consume you as you neglect other activities that make you feel good about yourself. Get off the computer and go for a run, cook a gourmet dinner for friends or take your dog for obedience training.

Take advantage of your dating site’s tools: For example, match.com features its own online magazine chock full of confidence-enhancing advice and ideas.

Avoiding the Dating Scammer

Once your newly-found confidence is intact you’re ready to take on the devious dating scammer. It’s important to select a reputable dating site that protects its members. For example, Zoosk is fiercely committed to protecting daters, both on and off-line. It also encourages users to immediately report dating scams they might encounter. Before selecting a dating site, be sure to check out their safety policies.

Here are some blazing red flags that a scammer’s out to fan your flames.

Study photos. The bottom line is – scammers aren’t real and nor are their profile photos. Be wary of the studio head shot. Also beware of the photo cut in half where there was once another person. Check to see if his photos were grabbed from the Internet by using TinEye. Simply copy and paste the photo in question to TinEye and if he has indeed using a counterfeit shot, dump that scammer in a hurry.

Avoid people who profess their love right away and want to communicate with you off the site. Scammers are notorious for wanting to get their victims off the dating site to avoid being blocked. Also, off-site, the technically savvy scammer can access and retrieve personal data from your computer.

Insist on using webcam. Most scammers avoid using webcams and will concoct every excuse in the book not to: his computer is broken, he looks terrible, he doesn’t have enough time, and so on. Avoid any guy who refuses to be seen.

Check profile text. A very easy exercise to see if he has pilfered profile text from another unsuspecting soul is to copy a chunk and paste it into your search engine. If the picture and profile of another man appears, you have just discovered a scammer.

Be skeptical of poor English skills. The fact is that many scammers hail from overseas – especially Eastern Europe and Western Africa. Your scammer may say he grew up somewhere in the United States, but his English skills belie that fact.

Most importantly, do not give him money! The scammer’s ultimate goal is to finagle money from you. Excuse number one usually involves wanting to see you – desperately – but since he claims to be overseas on a work assignment and his money is tied up, would you please send him money for a plane ticket. To foil his plot, tell him you’ll buy the ticket and watch him squirm. If you do succumb and give him money for the plane ticket, of course, he’ll never arrive but continue badgering you with his future “poor me I need more money” scam.

As a gay man, you already know that safety is paramount for many reasons. The all gay dating site CompatiblePartners offers much more privacy than other sites to minimize your chances of being the victim of online dating scams.

Top10BestDatingSites Staff

The Top 10 Best Dating Sites staff are your guides to the world of online dating websites and services. The team navigates the world of online dating and share their findings to help readers find online dating success. Our team includes dating experts Laurel House, Ken Solin, James Preece, Erika Ettin, Nida Sea, Vanae Tran, Carmelia Ray and many more talented writers. Top 10 Best Dating Sites staff have extensive first-hand experience in: signing up for and using various online dating sites; researching the ever-growing online dating market; and copywriting and editing for various online and print publications about online dating.

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This site is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and comparison features to its visitors. Please be advised that the operator of this site accepts advertising compensation from companies that appear on the site, and such compensation impacts the location and order in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also impact the rating that is assigned to them. To the extent that ratings appear on this site, such rating is determined by our subjective opinion and based on a methodology that aggregates our analysis of brand market share and reputation, each brand's conversion rates, compensation paid to us and general consumer interest. Company listings on this page DO NOT imply endorsement. Except as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use, all representations and warranties regarding the information presented on this page are disclaimed. The information, including pricing, which appears on this site is subject to change at any time.

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